The Ways of the World
by MorJayChan
Summary: Seemingly random people are being abducted, tortured and killed. What does all this have to do with Spencer Reid? And why does he suddenly find himself in the cross hairs? WARNINGS: Major Reid wump. Rape. Torture. Homophobia. Please, I don't want to offend or trigger anyone so TAKE CAUTION.
1. Prologue

"Freeze, FBI!" The small cabin was quickly swarmed with armed agents, guns raised and ready to fire. The house was dark and dusty, obviously not well-kept. It was small and old, only a few rooms to search.

"Clear!" Morgan called from the kitchen, rounding the corner to the living room to meet a disappointed looking Hotch and Prentiss.

JJ was next to enter the room. "Bathroom and hall are clear." Followed by Rossi, shaking his head to signal that he didn't find anything in the bedroom.

"This doesn't make any sense, his car is in the drive way. Where the hell is he?" Morgan said angrily as he put his gun back into its holster at his hip. The rest of the team did the same.

"He has a head start on us, He could have moved her already, or on his way to dump the body." Hotch said solemnly. Emily Opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a shout from outside.

"Guys, out here!" Reid called. The team rushed outside, guns raised once again. They found Reid around the back of the house, standing next to two cellar doors which had recently been padlocked, but were now sitting unlocked. Hotch gave a sharp nod to the team and raised his hand to count down from three as they mechanically fell into position. JJ pulled open the doors when he hit zero and they quickly descended down concrete stairs.

The cellar was cold and reeked of urine and mold. The team had to strain their eyes to see in the low lighting. It was an unfinished basement. No windows, no doors. But he was there.

"Vincent Todd, You're under arrest," Emily announced to the man standing before her. Vincent was in his late thirties, but already balding. He wore thick glasses, which covered his almost comically wide eyes. Obviously he wasn't expecting the FBI to find him. He stood shirtless, a small kitchen knife in his hand. "Drop the weapon."

His eyes darted from agent to agent, staring down the barrels of the their guns, which were aimed straight at him. The knife dropped the ground with a loud clatter as he raised his hands above his head in surrender. He knew there was no way he could get away.

"Where's the girl?" Demanded Hotch. Vincent only chuckled, suddenly filled with confidence. He now had the upper hand. A smug smile spread across his face.

"I'm not telling you a thing." He spat at them. He held his chin high, as if he were looking down at them.

Reid had his gun aimed, a clear shot right between the eyes, ready to pull the trigger at any second. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move across the room. It was too dark to make out what it was. If he didn't know any better, he would have said it was a ghost. He turned to look, and saw a dirty mattress sitting on a rusted metal frame. He moved towards it, lowering his gun. When he was just a few feet away, he lowered himself down to his knees and bent to look underneath. He was met with a pair of wide green eyes staring back at him.

"Elizabeth? My name is Spencer," He whispered to the girl. She pushed herself farther under the bed with her arms, obviously terrified. "It's okay, I don't want to hurt you. I'm with the police. We want to take you home. It's alright, you're safe now," He said comfortingly as she slowly crawled out from under the bed. "Shh, that's it." He smiled sadly at the sight of her. She only had on a pair of underwear, but her long tangled brown hair fell far below her shoulders. She looked incredibly young, nine years old according to her file. She was thin, terribly thin. Her ribs were protruding out from her skin. It was a miracle that she could even support her own weight. She reached her arms up to him, and Spencer obediently picked her up and sat her on his hip. Thin arms around his neck and buried she her face in his chest. He kept a straight face and tried to ignore how incredibly light she was. It was obvious she had been starved for a long period of time.

He turned around to the rest of the team. Hotch was pulling a handcuffed Todd out of the room and the rest were staring at him and the girl with a mix of emotions on their face. Rossi pulled off his jacket and handed it of to Emily for the girl before leaving with Hotch. Morgan was on his phone, calling for paramedics and JJ and Prentiss were slowly walking towards him.

"Hi Elizabeth," Emily said sweetly, but she wouldn't look up. She only squeezed Spencer tighter. "Did she say anything?" she asked as she walked over and placed the jacket over her small frame..

"No," Reid said shaking his head. "Not a word." It was then that Morgan walked Towards them, careful to keep his distance from the obviously traumatized girl.

"The paramedics will be here soon, and her parents will meet us at the hospital. CSI's on their way," he informed them as he hung up his phone. "Let's get her up so the techs can get started as soon as they get here."

With that, they went up the stairs with Morgan going first. Next was Reid and the girl, then JJ and Emily. As they walked, Elizabeth peeked her eyes over Reid's shoulder to see JJ smiling softly at her. She quickly buried her face again, clinging onto spencer as if her life depended on it.

* * *

"How's Elizabeth?" Morgan asked as Reid walked into the bull pen tiredly. He had spent the majority of the night at the hospital with her. The poor thing clung on to him so tightly the doctors couldn't examine her until her Mom's got there.

"It took a while to calm her down. Statistically, most children involved in stranger abductions don't make it past the first 24 hours, but she spent five and a half weeks with Vincent and Matthew Todd, I can't imagine what the poor girl went through," he sighed as he sat at his desk. He dropped his messenger bag on the floor, sipped his coffee and started his computer for the day.

Hotch came out of his of his office and called down to the team in the bull pen. "Meeting in the conference room. Now." Morgan sighed and Reid fliched up his eyebrows at him, as if to silently say 'here we go' as they got up to go.


	2. Chapter 1

"We need to start over. Assume everything we already know is wrong. Elizabeth Despres-Chole, nine years old. Abducted October 8th and held captive for five and a half weeks. Obvious signs of starvation and sexual assault, but we'll know more after we get her statement. Connor Brooks, twenty two. Reported missing October 16th and found dead in a vacant lot two days later. He was severely beaten and marks on his head from some sort of stun gun. COD: blunt force trauma. No evidence of sexual assault. And finally Felicia Duncan, nineteen. Reported missing October 29th from her collage campus and found dead a week later. Ligature marks around her wrists and ankles from some sort of restraint and the same stun gun marks were found on Felicia as Connor." Hotch explained, the whiteboard behind them clearly showing the pictures and pieces of evidence from each individual crime scene.

"The only reason these cases were linked together were through identical anonymous letters sent to the victims' families. '_The sinners and abominations of the world shall be redeemed. Only those that welcome the change shall survive.'_" JJ added quickly, not even having to read the note to know what it said. They had all read it so many times that they doubted they would ever forget it. "At first, the local police thought it was a hate crime due to the first victim, Elizabeth, having two mothers. But after the other two victims came to light, that theory was shot down. Connor and Felicia's families and friends said they were both heterosexual. Felicia's boyfriend confirmed that for us."

"What links them all together? What do Vincent and Matthew Todd see in them?" Rossi asked. They had tirelessly reviewed the evidence, and no one could come up with any solid theories. There was no pattern in his victims. Elizabeth does well in school and takes ballet classes in her spare time. Connor was a partier, popular and well liked. Felicia was quiet. Got straight A's in all her classes and mostly kept to herself. She was in a few extracurricular clubs, but wasn't on the boards for any."

"Is Vincent Todd talking?" Emily asked, looking to her boss then back at the team.

"He hasn't said a word. He's obviously the submissive in the pair. He's extremely loyal to his brother and it will be next to impossible to get him to give up any information," Hotch said disappointment evidence in his voice.

"Which is why we need a leg-up on him. We need some sort of information to throw him off guard. Then, _maybe_ we can get something out of him," Emily finished for him.

"The letters are vague. He talks about redemption, but also says if they don't comply, they'll die. The question is _why _they need to be redeemed. The only victim with a criminal record was Connor, and that was a DWI when he was Seventeen." Reid stated. "Elizabeth was the only victim to survive, which meant she had to have fit their needs in some way that the others couldn't. Over 90% of children who are abducted are killed within the first twenty four hours, so she must have been special. The other victims showed no sign of sexual assault, so the rape was probably used as a method of controlling her."

"Reid, You and JJ go back to the hospital, see if you can get Elizabeth talking. She's our only lead, and she might know where Matthew is," Hotch said with a short nod, dismissing them. Reid wasn't terribly excited to be going back to the hospital where he had spent most of his night, but considering the circumstances, he didn't really care.

* * *

JJ knocked softly on the hospital room door with the back of her hand and looked wearily at Spencer as they waited for a reply. They heard a soft, female voice call a gentle; "_come in." _ to them and opened the door.

JJ's heart wanted to shatter into a million pieces upon walking into the room. Elizabeth sat in bed with her mothers on either side of her. She looked incredibly small in comparison to the IV that stuck out of her arm and the oversized, hospital issue pajamas she wore. She was looking down at her lap and had her hair covering her face. Even now, reuniting with her family, she still seemed terrified.

Spencer on the other hand was thrilled to see how much better she looked than when he last saw her the night before. Her face had much more color than it had before and her hair was now neatly brushed and hung loosely over her shoulders.

The woman belonging to the voice which had let them in stood to greet the pair. "Agent Reid," she said with a smile on her face. "Back so soon?" JJ didn't miss the way Elizabeth's head snapped up to look at him when she heard the name. She must have made a real connection with him. It wasn't uncommon after all. Many victims form bonds with the law enforcement officers who rescue them.

"Hi Mrs. Despres. This is my partner, Agent Jareau," Reid said, motioning towards JJ. "we were wondering if we could possibly ask Elizabeth a few questions." He looked over to the girl in the bed and gave her a soft smile, one which she returned with a broken, half version of one.

"What do you think Lizzy, Can Spencer ask you a few questions about what happened?" Mrs. Chole asked her daughter. Elizabeth looked to her mothers, then back to Spencer.

"I guess." She said quietly. Her voice was horse and airy. It was the first time Spencer had heard her speak. Judging by the look on her parent's face, it was one of only a few occasions since she got to the hospital that she had.

Reid walked over to Elizabeth's bed side and pulled up a chair. He pulled out a small note pad and sat down, careful to keep enough distance as to not make her uncomfortable. He saw her look nervously towards JJ and gave her a quick look. "That's my friend JJ. She's really nice, but if you want, she can wait out in the hall." Elizabeth gave a silent nod, but didn't take her eyes off of her.

"I'll be out in the hall if you need me." JJ said before leaving the room. Only then, did Elizabeth look back to Spencer.

"How are you feeling Elizabeth, you look much better." Spencer said sweetly, trying to ease her into the interview. He needed her to feel comfortable if he was going to get the information he needed.

"Okay." She said shortly. He could already tell that her answers were going to be brief and to the point. But he could work with that.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions about the man who took you, is that okay?" He asked cautiously. She nodded, but said nothing. He took that as a cue to start. "Do you remember when we found you?"

Nod.

"The basement you were in, was that the only place they kept you?"

"W-when they first took me from school; we were in the car for a really long time." She said nervously.

"Do you remember what the car looked like? Was it old?"

Nod. "It was green, with wood on the outside." She muttered, looking back down at her lap. Reid knew just from the description that it was Vincent Todd's car.

"I know it's hard, But could you tell me what happened in the basement?" Reid asked, hoping for the best.

Elizabeth visibly tensed at the question. She looked up to her mothers for reassurance. "It's okay Lizzy." Mrs. Despres said kindly, encouraging her to talk.

"They were really mean," she muttered.

"Who were?"

"The men who took me. They called me names…and they hurt me." She mumbled.

Reid decided to ask about the lesser of two evils first. "What kind of names?"

She shrugged. "Bad words. Ones that I'm not allowed to say. Like 'stupid' and the B-word." She paused for a minuet as if she were contemplating something. After a short period of silence, she looked back at him. "Spencer, what's a dyke?"


End file.
